In a wide variety of applications, integrated electronic devices can be formed in a semiconductor layer which is disposed outwardly from a buried insulator layer. This architecture is commonly referred to as semiconductor on insulator or “SOI” architecture. SOI architectures are used in a wide variety of digital, power and RF applications. The buried insulator layer typically comprises a layer of oxide which allows for integrated architectures and especially isolation techniques that are not available in conventional integrated system architectures that are built on monolithic semiconductor substrates.
SOI structures are typically formed using two separate substrates which are bonded together before the device grade semiconductor material is exposed. The ability to form a cohesive and durable bond between the two substrates prior to processing the device layer is critical to the overall practicality of the device. If the bond is subject to delamination for any reason, the reliability of the entire system is degraded.